Hamel Associates Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,410 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,565 shares during the period. Hamel Associates Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Hershey by 3.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 30,767 shares of the company's stock worth $6,665,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,057,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,045,383,000 after buying an additional 216,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its holdings in Hershey by 10.8% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 32,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,972,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.17% of the company's stock.
Get Hershey alerts:Hershey Price Performance
HSY stock traded up $2.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $238.34. 483,043 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,086,568. The company has a market capitalization of $48.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $229.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.50. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $193.09 and a 52-week high of $242.63.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 57.76% and a net margin of 15.79%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.Hershey Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.036 per share. This represents a $4.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.01%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey
In other Hershey news, major shareholder Hershey Trust Co sold 8,600 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.83, for a total transaction of $1,985,138.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 39,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,147,792.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Hershey Trust Co sold 8,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.83, for a total value of $1,985,138.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,630 shares in the company, valued at $9,147,792.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 1,512 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.38, for a total value of $357,406.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,241,478.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,023 shares of company stock valued at $9,293,587 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Hershey from $231.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $244.00 to $269.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Hershey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $243.71.
Hershey Profile
(Get Rating)
The Hershey Co engages in the manufacture and marketing of chocolate, sweets, mints and confectionery products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: North America and International and Other. The North America is responsible for the traditional chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery market position of the company, as well as its grocery and snacks market positions, in the United States and Canada.
Featured Stories
- Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Hershey (HSY)
- How to Find Penny Stocks to Invest and Trade
- ONSemi Is Marching Higher On Great Results
- What Tyson Foods Q1 Means For Staples Stocks
- 2023 Consumer Lending Study – Trends, Statistics, and Forecast
- Here's the Silver Lining with Snap Stock Earnings Collapse
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HSY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating).
Receive News & Ratings for Hershey Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hershey and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.